Wake Me Up: Morning Positivity - Morning Routine - Fun

Episode Date: January 24, 2022

This morning, we make some time to play. Enjoying Wake Me Up? Get ad-free access to the entire WMU catalog + bonus content by joining the WMU Premium Feed. Sign up and start your 7-day free trial at https://wakemeup.supercast.com/. Follow the show on Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Podchaser Say hi or request an episode at www.wakemeuppodcast.com/contact. And find the podcast on Instagram and TikTok. **Only partake in the physical movements suggested in Wake Me Up episodes if you are physically able and in safe surroundings. All movements are done at the individual's own risk. Be safe, and always consult a doctor if you have any questions or concerns.** Have a wonderful day 😃 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The best, most productive days start without distraction. And that's why I offer the Wake Me Up premium feed. It gives you access to the entire Wake Me Up catalog, completely free of ads and promos, plus monthly bonus content. Check out the episode notes or stick around after the show to learn more. Hey there, and welcome to Wake Me Up, the podcast, where morning people are made. As usual, I'm Tyler, your host, and I'm so excited to have you here today, because this episode is all about having fun. As kids, we were so quick to do things on a whim, not worrying about whether anyone will care or whether it's a productive use of our time.

We played for the pure joy of it. Being an adult comes with responsibilities. It's true. But that doesn't mean fun and play are off limits. In fact, there's a ton of science that shows play is wildly helpful for adults. It reduces stress, opens our creative minds to new possibilities, gives us more energy and makes us more confident. So today, we're going to do things a little bit differently,

and we'll just focus on having fun. To start, let's all take a big breath in. Fill all the way into your belly. Exhale. Let's do that one more time. Inhale, fill all the way up, and release. And why not think back on your childhood for a second? To a time when you remember playing, having a blast. Maybe you were playing a sport or a game with friends, exploring the woods, drawing or painting. The options for things to play with as a child were truly infinite.

If you know kids, you know they can find entertainment in literally anything. A single ball can bring joy to a child for hours on end. And there's something really brilliant in that. It's the ability, the open-mindedness,

to explore and experiment without caring so much about the results is what play and fun are all about. even though most of us are adults doesn't mean we can't play. We just have to reopen our minds to that way of thinking. And that's what we'll do today. So I hope you're excited to get this day started. I sure am.

If you're in bed, take a deep breath in and on your exhale, roll over, and make your way to standing up. So like I said, we're going to do things a little differently today. We're going to blend our mindfulness and our stretching. Stretching is really a type of mindfulness. It's just paying attention to the sensations of your body. And I'm going to lead you very loosely today.

Because this is your playtime. It's your time to experiment with your own self-care, your own body, your own stretches. So stand up straight and close your eyes. We'll start with a body scan, just taking notice of how each part feels. Begin at the top of your head and move down to your neck, your shoulders, arms, hands, to your chest, your back, your abdomen, hips, thighs. Okay, go ahead and open your eyes.

Now that you've got a good idea of how your body is feeling, start by addressing the part of you that needs a little more love and care. Maybe you take a stretch to loosen that part out. Maybe you make one up or use one you know. Maybe you just massage that muscle or that joint. The point is to experiment. Try what feels right to you. There's no messing up here.

This is the first phase of three. that will do. So start slow, and each phase will have a little bit more movement, a little bit more energy. I'll give you about 30 seconds for this one. Now switch to something else. A different stretch, a different movement. Focus on a different part of the body. Again, just play around. Keep it simple and try to bring some life and rejuvenation to your body through movement. In whatever way feels right to you. And you can bring a little more energy to the movement that you're doing this time. We want to start waking the body up a little bit more.

I'll give you another 30 seconds. All right, now to our last phase. So begin to bring some movement to your entire body. Try to involve both your arms and your legs in some way. It doesn't matter what it looks like. It only matters how it feels. Follow your intuition. And it's okay if something doesn't work out the way you thought it would.

It's all good. You're just having fun, loosening up. Nobody's watching, and literally nobody cares. Maybe you do your favorite stretch. Maybe you do my favorite stretch, a forward fold. Or maybe you dance around your living room. It doesn't matter. Do whatever feels right to you.

I'll give you about a minute here. I hope you enjoyed that bit of exploratory stretching. You can wrap it up whenever you're ready. It's time for today's send off. There's a memory I have from childhood. That's the quintessential imagery in my mind for fun. It's from one of the first times I was jumping in a pool as a kid, doing cannon balls and that sort of thing.

I was so excited, so completely overwhelmed just by the sensation of jumping in water that I literally couldn't contain myself. I had to do it over and over and over again without a single moment of pause in between. Each jump felt so new because I tried something different just to see what would happen.

And when I think about it now, in hindsight, I was actually learning a ton in that moment. How to jump without hurting myself, without belly flopping. I was learning physics, gravity, and how to control my own body. But I wasn't thinking about any of that. I was thinking about having fun. Friends, just because we're older, doesn't mean life should be boring. No, life is a giant playground.

It's an experiment. And unfortunately, the fun gets sucked out of us as adults because we need to be productive and focused at times. We have a reputation and we care about what people think. And that's all good. But we can't forget to play. In fact, it's often when we're playing that we have epiphany moments. Something new clicks.

And that's because play is. It's all about experimentation. It's about exploring. By not making time to play, you're actually holding yourself back. So friends, I encourage you to make time to play and have fun today, even if it's just five minutes.

Do something for the pure enjoyment of it, without worrying about the results, or what other people might think. Seriously, what's the point of life? What's the point of life if we can't have a little fun? That's all for this episode. Thanks so much for tuning in. Now go out.

Don't forget to have some fun and have an absolutely fantastic day. As a wake me up listener, you know the value of a great morning routine, free of distractions. That's why you need to know about the Wake Me Up premium feed. It offers ad-free listening to the entire Wake Me Up camera. catalog plus monthly bonus content. In just a few taps, you'll be listening distraction-free in literally any podcast player. You can try it free for seven days. Check out the show notes and follow the link for the Wake Me Up Premium Feed to learn more

and sign up now. I really appreciate your listenership, love, and support. And I hope you have a great day.